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These “high profile” coaches in PLs & SLs are a bluff - hardly anyone can improve players over 6 weeks. Most of these players are internationals & seasoned pro - a dynamic Captain is more than enough for on field tactics. For the practice, more than high profile head coach, they need specialist technical coaches for batting, bowling & fielding.

In PSL, probably the most high profile two head coaches were Moody & Arthur - their teams (MS & KK) are the two most under achievers after LQ. Whereas, IU & PZ has done well with best two Captains in PSL, QG as well.

I don’t think MS needs any more person in coaching department. Abdur Rehman is probably the best among local coaches (guy is well educated as well), Nadeem was a decent SLAO spinner - should do well with spinners & Botha can help the players for fielding. Wasim as mentor/head coach/GM ...., Malik captain is enough. May be they can appoint a batting coach to look after the batting & hitting skills - a level 3 pro is enough for that.

These “high profile” coaches in PLs & SLs are a bluff - hardly anyone can improve players over 6 weeks. Most of these players are internationals & seasoned pro - a dynamic Captain is more than enough for on field tactics. For the practice, more than high profile head coach, they need specialist technical coaches for batting, bowling & fielding.

In PSL, probably the most high profile two head coaches were Moody & Arthur - their teams (MS & KK) are the two most under achievers after LQ. Whereas, IU & PZ has done well with best two Captains in PSL, QG as well.

I don’t think MS needs any more person in coaching department. Abdur Rehman is probably the best among local coaches (guy is well educated as well), Nadeem was a decent SLAO spinner - should do well with spinners & Botha can help the players for fielding. Wasim as mentor/head coach/GM ...., Malik captain is enough. May be they can appoint a batting coach to look after the batting & hitting skills - a level 3 pro is enough for that.

Hardly follow any T20 league.... if not Wasim (I read he is opening an academy in Multan), then may be WY or Sohail or Shoaib or YK can do the same job.

WY is with IU already.
Sohail and Shoaib are a big no for me. Both don't have the brains to neither conduct themselves professionally nor create a good working environment. Shoaib is too volatile and non serious and Amir sohail is too bitter and clueless.

Multan Sultans made their HBL Pakistan Super League debut only in 2018, but their popularity in the league is at par with any other team. Under a new owner, they are the most expensive HBL PSL franchise.

Their popularity in Pakistan, especially in Southern Punjab, is set to increase manifold as Shahid Afridi, the most eminent T20 player of the country, is among the new faces to join Sultans this season. The 39-year-old veteran is in vintage form, and last month became the first Pakistani to achieve a double of 4,000 runs and 300 wickets in T20 cricket.

Afridi’s destructive nature with the bat is well known and he will be joined by another swashbuckling all-rounder Andre Russell, who comes in the team as a replacement for the injured Steve Smith. Both Afridi and Russell have a batting strike-rate in excess of 150.00 and together hit 500 plus sixes in T20s.

Russell has won two T20 World Cups with the Windies in 2012 and 2016 and was also part of the Islamabad United side that won the HBL PSL in 2016 and 2018.

The highly experienced T20 player and captain Shoaib Malik will continue to lead the side after having performed the same duties in the previous tournament. Malik is the only Pakistani who has accumulated 8,000 plus runs in 20-over cricket.

Shoaib Malik said: “HBL PSL is my favorite time of the year. It is a fervour that spreads across the country and everyone is involved. I spent most of my childhood in Karachi and it is like home for me, so my target is to play the final in that beautiful city on 17 March.

“The tournament is a fantastic platform and I am so proud to be associated with it. I am more emotional about it probably because I vividly remember the days when PSL did not exist and there was no platform that could grab peoples’ attention. I am very excited and looking forward to a bigger and better HBL PSL.”

The left-arm pace duo of Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan will lead the bowling attack for the Sultans. Irfan is known for his miserly bowling and bowled 23 dot balls in a world record bowling spell in Barbados last year, whereas Junaid, one of the three bowlers to claim a hat-trick in the HBL PSL, is famous for his bowling in the death overs.

The Sultans made their presence felt in the first appearance when at the halfway stage, they were at the top of the points table after winning four of the five completed matches. They had looked strong contenders to lift the trophy, but their form nosedived in the second half of the tournament as they finished outside the top four to miss out on the play-offs.

With the world’s best all-rounders, a potent power-hitting unit and two world-class left-arm fast bowlers in their ranks, the Sultans will be hoping to showcase better results this time.

Their challenge starts on the second day of the tournament when they take on Karachi Kings in Dubai on 15 February.

Pooran has earned a maiden call-up to the Windies squad for the ODI series against England after a successful outing in the T20 format.

Johnson Charles joins the Sultans squad as a Silver category player. The 30-year-old top order batsman from Saint Lucia was a part of the Windies team in 2012 and 2016 when they went on to lift the ICC T20 World Cup trophies.

Charles brings with him the experience of 135 T20 games in which he has scored 3,107 runs at an average of 24.08 and a strike rate of 125.28 and will also add depth to the Sultans squad with his wicket-keeping abilities.

“I have heard so many good things about HBL PSL and I can't wait to be a part of this Pakistani cricket festival,” said Charles, while talking about his inclusion in the HBL PSL. “Our squad at Multan Sultans is fairly balanced and I am confident that we can do well this year.”

“Personally speaking, I am really looking forward to sharing the dressing room with guys like Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi. They have played so much cricket and I am sure they will have great things to share with me and with the rest of our squad as well.”

Multan Sultans coach Johan Botha said: "As a team, we are very happy for Pooran. He has worked hard and his excellent performances over this past year have been recognised.

“I'd like to welcome Johnson Charles to the Multan Sultans squad. We are confident that Johnson will play a significant role in our HBL PSL campaign this year. He has the experience of two ICC World T20 wins under his belt and I have no doubt that our team will benefit from his performances and his experience."

Multan Sultans will start their HBL PSL 2019 campaign with a match against Karachi Kings on 15 February at the Dubai International Stadium.

Chris Green will depart Australia on Monday night to take up a deal with Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League after the Sydney Thunder's premature Big Bash exit.

The spinning all-rounder finished with another handy unbeaten 34 in Saturday night's four-wicket win over Hobart and enjoyed a solid summer campaign that will sadly forever be remembered for the Gabba lights debacle.

The Thunder were forced to settle for one point against the Brisbane Heat last month when there was a power outage and with the home side in desperate trouble.

The cruel irony is the Heat were still in with a big chance to play in the finals at the Thunder's expense.

Green, who was elevated to the vice-captaincy this summer, received a call a couple of days ago about linking with the Sultans, the same franchise Steve Smith had signed on to play for before he suffered an elbow injury.

"I'm going over as a replacement player for Dan Christian and James Vince at the start [of the PSL] with the Multan Sultans while those two finish their Big Bash finals campaign,'' Green told the Herald.

"Then Andre Russell leaves after they arrive and I'll become a replacement player for him.

"I'm looking forward to getting my first opportunities to play over there. The last two years I've gone close to playing [with Lahore and then Quetta], but this year I'd love to showcase what I've been doing in the BBL, the Caribbean Premier League and T10 League.

"I put a lot of hard work into my game over the last few years, particularly with the bat.

"To execute what I've wanted to was a real positive. I've always seen myself as an all-rounder, and to prove that to myself a lot more at Big Bash level, I was really proud with what I was able to achieve.''

There was almost an empty feeling when the Thunder knocked over the competition leaders at a packed Manuka Oval on Saturday night.

Only three players boarded the 45-seat coach on the way back to Sydney on Sunday as the rest of the players, including Green, made hasty arrangements to honour commitments all over the globe.

Green batted in the middle order with an average of 47 and strike rate at 136.5 while he took eight wickets at an economy of 6.9 runs an over.

As easy as it was to blame the seventh pre-finals exit in eight seasons on the Gabba gee-up, Green said the Thunder butchered a few other chances.

"The nature of this game and tournament, you're going to get circumstances that arise, but in all honesty there were a number of games we found ourselves in winning positions and lost them,'' Green said.

"If one of those results were different, we'd be preparing for finals next week.

"It was a rollercoaster tournament for us, we were able to beat the best teams and beat them comfortably, but also play some not-so-good cricket.

"Winning last night was great and to finish on a high, but there was also a sour taste and that [desire] to come back for more next season.''

Shane Watson scored a century and will definitely return as skipper next summer, Jason Sangha and Baxter Holt are players of the future, while Callum Ferguson showed his class with the bat.

Australia all-rounder Chris Green has been added to the Multan Sultans squad for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019 edition.
The 25-year old Green replaces Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmed who is unavailable. In 52 T20 matches Green has scored 374 runs and taken 40 wickets.

Green will be available for the entire tournament as a Silver category player on the Multan Sultans team roster.

Alan Wilkins during commentary noted that Andre Russell has not been bowling at 100% pace, especially during the over in which Luke Ronchi took a keen liking to him. Mathew Hayden also suspects that Russell may be injured.

Thoughts? This is an unfortunate sight if you are a Sultans fan, a lot of hope depends on Russell to produce match winning performances for their campaign.

"The Indian bowling attack is as devastating as the Teletubbies"- Sir Ian Botham

Why does it seem like this is the franchise with the least fans? This is like my second favorite franchise especially this year the squad is much more appealing than last year, if only Smith didn't get injured.

Why does it seem like this is the franchise with the least fans? This is like my second favorite franchise especially this year the squad is much more appealing than last year, if only Smith didn't get injured.

VIDEOS/PICTURES] Multan Sultans 2019 Squad and Discussion Thread

I don't think that Russell as a bowler alone is good enough to be played. I honestly think that Multan are wasting a (foreign player`s) spot their. On the contrary, he has in fact been bowling poorly and leaking runs. Batting him way down the order is in this case as good as playing with 10 players. It's best to bat him open the order to make use of his unmatched hitting ability, or drop him from the team altogether to play either a proper bowler or a batsman. He hardly gets an opportunity to bat and his bowling had never been the talking point of his career.

"It sounds like you have a great strength of character and strong will" - Ellyse Perry about me.

Pretty surprising they dont have any emrging batsman or all rounder in the team. Ilyas wasnt even bowled today so better to have an emerging batsman or an all rounder if you are not even gonna bowl the emerging bowler.

Why waste a pick when you anyway are not going to include Abbas in Playing XI. And it's already too late to play him now, it will make them look idiots if Abbas plays now and performs well. Or they can exchange him for Saud/Haris.